Ski sleigh



Jan' 19 1954 H. C. F. LAMMl-:Rs Erm. 2,666,652

SKI SLEIGH Filed Oct. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /16 ,za /14l 30 f I lf- JJ Y JZ,

INVENTORS Jan. 19, 1954 H. c. F. LAMMERS ETAL 2,666,652

SKI SLEIGH Filed Oct. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1812 z z 12 j@ Wyman-5M vm Patented Jan. 19, .1954- OFFICE SKI SLEIGH Harold C. F. Lammers and Bessie B. Lammers,

Akron, Ohio n Application October 5, 1951, Serial No. 249,976

1 Claim. l

This invention relates to sleds or sleighs, and more particularly, has reference to a structure falling within this category, wherein a pair of ski-like runners are attached to the body of the device, and are tiltable vtransversely through the provision oi a novel steering means, thus to bank said runners and cause the entire structure to be turned in either direction, with a high degree of facility.

It is one important object of the p-resent invention te provide a Structure of the characterrdescribed wherein the weight oi the structure will be evenly distributed so as to increase measurably the facility with which the entire structure may be steered.

Another important object is to provide, in a ski sleigh or sled, a steering control system wherein radius rods or the like will be eliminated completely, and all'lever movement will be horizontalA and of highly simpliiied design, thus to provide a structure wherein the several parts will be of simple construction, and will not readily yget out of order. g Y

Another important object is to provide a ski sleigh of the character stated, which will permit the use of conventional skis as runners therefor, and which will make use of the cambered construction of standard skis to make easier the steering of the sleigh.

Briefly, the structure comprises a sled body having a pair of `ski-like runners extending along opposite sides thereof, said runners being hingedly connected to the body so Aas to be tiltable transversely. Incorporated in the structure is a steering bar, having a crank arm rigid therewith that is joined to a medially fulcrumed lever, so that the lever is rocked upon the sled body uponmovement of the steering bar. The lever, in turn, is connected to a transversely extending control bar, joined at opposite ends to upstanding arms rigid with the respective runners, thus to cause the runners to be jointly tilted or banked in a direction transversely of the sled body, upon reciprocable movement of the control bar transversely oi said body.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters .designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a ski Sleigh formed in accordance with the present invention; y

Figure 2 is a side elevational View;

rFigure 3 is a bottom plan view;

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 in which the runners have been tilted transversely for the purpose of steering the sleigh;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectionalview, taken on line 5 5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional View taken on line 6 6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view on line '1 7 of Figure l;

Figure S is a transverse sectional View taken on line --S of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the hinge connection between one of the runners and the sled body; and

Figure 10 is a perspective view ci the steering control mechanism, the steering bar being shown in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the sled body includes a longitudinally and centrally disposed center piece I i of flat, elongated formation, said center piece being formed preferably from a suitable length oi' iat wood stock.

Extending longitudinally of the center piece Il, at opposite sides thereof, are side pieces i2, that cooperate with the center piece Il to forni a at body portion adapted to support one or more persons.

Adjacent the rear end of said body portion, the center and side pieces i i, i2 are joined by areal' cross member iii, that underlies said center and side pieces, and is rigidly secured thereto in any suitable manner.

A front cross member I6 underlies the center and side pieces adjacent the iront ends of the structure, and is also secured to said pieces, thus to rigidly connect the component parts of the body portion forwardly and rearwardly thereof.

The respective cross members id, It project beyond the opposite sides oi the body portion andare rigidly connected to hand holds i3 that extend longitudinally oi opposite sides of the body portion, and are supported upon the projecting ends of the cross members.

`Eixedly connected to the undersides of the projecting ends of the front and rear cross members `are depending supports of inverted V- shape, said supports being designated 2t (see Figure 9) and being integrally formed at their provide piano hinges, said hinge plates swinging` upon axes disposed longitudinally of opposite sides of the sled structure.

Rigid with the lower edges of the hinge plates 2t are plate members 28 rigidly secured to the top surfaces oi runners te.

The runners 3S can be, and preferably are, a conventional pair of slris properly cambered for eilcient distribution of weight.

It will be seen that the center pieces H, I2, the cross members Hi, l5, and the depending supports 2li with their associated hinge plates 24, cooperate to define a body on which the runners 3e are hingedly mounted for swinging movement about axes disposed longitudinally of the runners and spaced above said runners.

A steering bar 32 is disposed transversely of the body of the ski sleigh, adjacent the front end of the body, and has its opposite ends projecting beyond the opposite sides or" the body, so as to be adapted to be steered either by the hands or feet of one riding upon the device. The steering bar 32 is rigidly connected, intermediate opposite ends thereof, to a depending pin 3d, which is rotatably journaled in the iront end portion of the center piece l l, thus to rockably mount the steering bar 32 upon the body oi the structure for swinging movement in a horizontal plane.

Rigid with the pin Sil, and underlying the body portion of the sled defined by themembers Il, i2, is a cra l: arm 3e, extending radially from the pin Sii and adapted to be swung upon rotation of the pin, which rotation is oi course caused by movement oi the opposite ends of the steering bar 32 longitudinally of the sled body.

The crank; arm 35 extends rearwardly trom the pin 3e, and at its rear end is formed with a longitudinal slot Sie, through which a connecting pin I li extends, the connecting pin lll serving to provide a pivotal connection between the crank and the front end of a lever 42, that is disposed longitudinally of the sled body.

The lever l2 is ulcrurned intermediate opposite Vends thereof upon a pivot pin it that extends through the center piece l I and front cross member le to connect the same, the lever l2 swinging in a horizontal plane.

At its rear end, the lever t2 is pivotally connected to the forwardly extended portion of an angle bracket de, which is provided with a depending leg rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the intermediate portion or a reciprocable cross bar dii. The cross bar i8 is mounted to be reciprocated transversely of and below the body portion of the structure, and will be given movement upon rocking oi the lever 'i2 on its pivot fifi.

At its opposite ends, the cross bar 48 has pivotal connections to the upper ends of a pair of arms 52 which may be of inverted sl-shape, and which are rigidly secured at their lower ends to plates 54, that are secured to the top surfaces of the respective runners 30.

In use, if the ski sleigh is to be directed upon a straight course, the steering bar 32 is disposed perpendicularly to the longitudinal center line of the structure, as shown in Figure l or 3. In this position of lthe steering bar, the dat, wide runners 3d are disposed in a common plane parallel to the plane of the body portion of the device, and are in full contact, along their bottom surfaces, with the supporting surface S.

Ii, however, the sled or sleigh is to be steered to right or left, it is merely necessary to rock the steering bar 32 to a position such as that shown, for example, in Figure 4. This swings the crank arm 36, which in turn rocks the lever d2 upon its pivot All, causing the cross bar 43 to be shifted transversely of the device in one direction.

Upon ymovement of the cross bar i8 in this manner, the arms 52 will be inclined out of verticality, to the position illustrated in Figure 8. Since Said arms are rigid with the runners 3G, the runners will in turn be tilted transversely to the position shown in Figure 8, the runners swinging on the piano hinges donned by the hinge plates 24, 26.

The rider, as will be appreciated, may either lie down upon the body portion of the device or sit up, and can steer either by pulling the steering bar 32 by hand, or by pulling a rope, not shown, connected to the opposite ends of the steering bar. The steering bar, in this connection, is formed 'with end openings through which such a rope may be inserted.

When the rider rocks the steering bar 32 tor the purpose oi turning the sled to right or left, he exerts his body weight to that side of the structure toward which he desires to turn the sled. This shifting of body weight, occurring simultaneously with the tilting of the ski runners, causes the sled to begin a curving movement in the desired direction. This curving movement obtains due to the fact that the upcurved front end portions of the runners cause more weight to be placed upon the inside runner. rlhe inside ski or runner then becomes, in eiiect, the leading runner while the outside ski or runner becomes a trailing runner, causing the curving movement of the entire device. llhe operation of banking the ski runners transversely for the purpose of changing the direction of movement oi the sleigh is not unlike that which occurs when a skier changes the direction of his movement.

We believe that the structure illustrated and described possesses certain characteristics which `may be worthy of note at this point. For example, the entire structure can be manufactured at relatively low cost, considering the benefits to be obtained thereby,and in fact, can be readily formed by modifying an ordinary sled body to permit said body to receive a conventional pair of skis, the body being, of course, equipped with a steering mechanism such as that illustrated and described.

Further, it is considered to be important that the entire steering control mechanism is shiftable only in a horizontal plane, the component parts of said mechanism being of simplied construction, so as to reduce the total number of parts to a minimum and so as to provide a steering means which will be durable and will not readily get out of order.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily coniined to the specii'lc construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A sleigh comprising a body having a body portion adapted to support a rider; a plurality of supports carried by said body portion at opposite sides thereof, said supports being rigid at their upper ends with and depending from the respective sides of the body portion; runners hingedly connected to the lower ends of the respective supports, the Iaxes on which said runners are hinged for swinging movement being arranged longitudinally and centrally of the runners and being spaced above the upper surfaces of the run- A 5 ners; arms rigid with and upstanding from the respective runners; a bar of rigid formation from end tov end thereof connected pivotally at its opposite ends to the upper ends of the respective arms and arranged transversely of the body so as to swing the arms to inclined positions when shifted transversely or" the body in a selected direction, thus to tilt the runners bodily on their hinge connections so as yto steer the sleigh in a direction selected by said rider, the pivotal connections of the bar to the respective arrns being confined to relative movement of the arms and bar about axes paralleling the hinge axes of the runners, said bar including an angle bracket rigidly secured to and extended forwardly from the midlength point of the bar, said bracket having a slot; a lever fulcrumed between its ends upon the underside of said body for swinging movement'in a horizontal plane, said lever having a pin at one end extending through the slot for pivotally connecting the lever at said end to the bar, the bar having rectilinear movement transversely of the bodyv responsive to rocking of the lever on its fulcrum; a steering bar extending transversely of Iand overlying the body and fulcrurned inter'-v medi-ate its ends upon the body; and a crank arm rigid with and extended rearwardly from said.

steering bar toward the first-named barand having a slot, said lever having a pin extendedv through the second-named slot to pivotally join the crank arm to the other end of said lever, thus to rock the lever responsive to pivotal movement of the steering bar under the control of a rider.

HAROLD C. F. LAMMERS. BESSIE B. LAMMERS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PA'ITENTSy 

